


Book 5-

by DRousseau



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: All hail the raven king, Angst, Drama, F/M, Gansey for prez, Gansey is King, Glendower - Freeform, M/M, Other, Raven King - Freeform, Rebirth, Risen, Romance, Scandal, The Pig - Freeform, They're back, chainsaw, it keeps going, opal - Freeform, what happened to the gray man
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2020-11-01 23:14:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20540912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DRousseau/pseuds/DRousseau
Summary: I felt unsatisfied at the end of the Raven King. There were too many questions, and things I didn't get to see happen. This is book 5, as best as I can imagine it. I tried my best to mimic Maggie's tone and style, and I honored all prologues/epilogues, and everything she has written in the first four books. This is merely a continuation, a final chapter from my point of view. I have much more and will continue to post if interest is there.





	1. Chapter 1

Prologue- Depending on where you began, this story is about the Universe. Numerous, vast, omniscient, the Universe speaks all the languages. It understands the trees, Greywarens, chipmunks, streams, psychics, the wind, and kings alike. The Universe hears it all. It sees and feels, breathes and exists everywhere simultaneously. Sometimes the Universe is an eager spectator, savoring from a distance. Sometimes however, the Universe interferes. Sometimes in small ways, sometimes in very large ones. This is a story of a quite significant interference.

Ch.1  
“Wake up” Blue’s voice rang out in a firm demand. All eyes stared down at Gansey, eager for even a tiny twitch of life. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing? Slowly the others began to let their eyes drift and meet the gaze of one another.  
“I don’t understand” said Blue, her tone exasperated and flat.  
“Something else…”Adam’s voice trailed off, as he seemed to be experiencing something from within himself.  
Ronan punched solid fists into the ground, pairing them perfectly with terrible animal like grunts and howls.  
“This can’t be it” Henry cut through the air that hung thick around them. “This isn’t the end. I know you can do this. I’ve seen it. The future at least, things further along. I’m telling you this isn’t IT!”  
“I’ve had about ENOUGH OF YOU” Ronan snarled. The tambour of his voice and hurt and rage fueling the power behind it was enough to clear the nearby tree of its inhabitants and make the cows stop dead in their tracks.  
All of a sudden a million sounds exploded around Blue, still knelt next to Gansey’s body. A cacophony of yelling, curse words, nervous livestock, sobs, and some other noise she couldn’t identify attacked violently at Blue’s ears and thoughts. Her heart pounded. Her mind was static, every nerve inside of her was screaming out and it was all just a huge mess. Overtaken, Blue bowed her head in defeat. It seemed an ill-fitting ending given how much she’d come to think of Gansey. This was a hero’s sacrifice, but it hadn’t quite felt like a heroic end. Blue allowed grief and anguish to wash over herself. She allowed the deep blanket of despair to slowly wrap around her, taking her into its cold.  
“It wasn’t enough.” Adam’s voice hit Blue’s ears almost as the words escaped his lips. Adam, still deeply entwined in Cabeswater in a way that no one had begun to process at this point was seeing something she couldn’t.  
“It’s not enough” he repeated.  
Blue watched Adam for a moment as he continued on.  
“Cabeswater, it filled him up as best it could but Gansey isn’t so easily fulfilled. There’s more to him than just a bit of magic and a dream. Gansey is all, and Cabeswater could never be enough for something as large as he”.  
No sooner had Adam finished had Blue been struck with inspiration.  
Without a word Blue Sargent stood to her feet, palms outstretched to the sky. She tilted her head up and spoke finally. Adam and Ronan could not decipher her words exactly. It seemed as if she had spoken to the sky, the trees, the sun and clouds, she implored the grass below them and the field of bovine who had since begun retreating once more. Blue’s voice rang in a chorus of crickets and rain, morning doves, the ocean, and the summer peeper frogs. There was definitely more but the group couldn’t parse anymore out.  
The skies darkened and turned a deep gray. Thunderheads rolled in and a low rumble came over the hills. Behind them however was a summer rain shower. A few degrees warmer, and even tied up nicely with a rainbow. Ronan squinted in the distance and could swear he saw a swirling tornado of snow and …was that stars? All at once everything had collided into a brilliant display of lightning. Blue spoke loudly now, shouting into the hurling winds. Adam, Ronan and Henry could now make out her words. Without anyone noticing, Glenda the good daughter had appeared and was now standing back to back with Blue. Her mess of hair swirled all around the two as she gripped Blues hips and chanted her own quiet mantra undoubtedly passing along her energy to blue in this way.  
Blue’s voice thundered as if it were coming from the clouds themselves.  
“Great Universe, I will be your servant, your friend, your mother and daughter. I will be as fearless as a Lioness, and pensive as the midnight sky. I will be all things in you, and you all things in me. Just allow me to dedicate a ribbon of my soul to another in exchange. Let it be so.”  
Ronan and Adam exchanged a specific look at one another before being interrupted by the trees. They were singing in unison. “She is us, us are we. Let it be known this one is chosen by thee.” Then the sky turned inky and a million stars exploded across the sky. Somehow the boys understood this language too. The stars were flashing in adoration and support. All around them everything had stopped to bow, the trees, the tall grasses, birds (including chainsaw) sank low on one knee, and sure enough, the much tormented cows had joined in as well.  
Blue glowed with an explosion of blue light. A lightning bolt in startling yellow-green connected with her glow and ignited her entirely. It was difficult to see exactly what had happened, it all flashed by so fast. One moment Blue was glowing blue and struck with yellow green lighting, the next a million blue green sparks flew from her. It was as if her body were a vehicle for those giant Fourth of July fireworks. Except, when they burst in the air what rained down was not sparks, but a strange and beautiful mix of blue lilies, green yellow lights, bubbles, feathers, stars, and life itself.  
“YES” they heard the Universe reply, as Blue stood for a moment, a strange and beautiful array of life cascading down around her.  
Blue collapsed to her knees once again. The light that had passed through her had left her glow a bit more green than it had been before.  
“Now what?” Blue looked to the trees imploringly. They sang back in unison “KISS HIM”.  
Blue faltered for a moment. She wasn’t quite sure she had thought this wise. For starters, the last time she did that he keeled over.  
Then, almost on cue Glinda broke into song. “Oh come ye to see thee the Raven King. Beside him a dreamer and gift to men. And stoic, he guards it, his Parrish friend. But let thee not forget the most integral part. His queen bee, his savior, his soul and his heart. A kiss once so deadly will make him restart!”  
Blue bent over and kissed Gansey again. His lips had taken a slightly more clammy feel than the first time they were introduced. A huge spark of lightning flowed through Blue once more. This time her glow emitted into a burst at Gansey’s mouth. Hardly a second passed, you could watch the light travel if you looked closely enough. Gansey began to become awash in a warm amber gold glow. As his aura grew stronger and brighter a long, large wisp of blue green ribbon traveled from Blue to Gansey. As the ribbon filled him up, he began to straighten. Before anyone noticed how, Gansey hovered a few inches above the ground, now standing straight and tall. His golden glow erupted around them. It chased away the darkness, the storm clouds, and snow tornado. Instead everything had been washed over in beautiful warm summer light.

Chapter 2  
The Gray Man and SunDuck were unlucky enough to see the aftermath of Piper Greenmantle after the leyline had accepted Gansey’s offer for a trade. Nearly everyone had found a quick exit save for these two, and Laumonier. The smell was wretched. Laumonier took the gun from Laumonier’ and began at the task of polishing it. His movements were rapid and concentric. These were the actions of a meticulous man.  
Not wasting a further second, SundDuck and The Gray Man made their way to their respective vehicles. SunDuck drove a proper Mercedes SUV. Its square angles and shiny black coat flashed danger signals to the animal part of the Gray Man’s brain. He quickly descended into a putrid white race car that looked like a toy. Even the license plate was juvenile and brash thought Sun Duck as the two pulled away.  
The Gray Man’s phone alerted, and he pointed his car in the direction of 300 Fox Way. When he got there, a wild and tense scene unfolded before him. Maura was pacing in the kitchen. Her hands folded and unfolded again and again.  
Calla made herself busy at the counter making something with bacon. The air was tense. Artemis sat at the table staring blankly into a cup of tea. His skin half barkish with colors of a beech.  
The Gray Man rubbed his eyes, he must have been tired. He fixed a gaze at the clock. It was somewhere between very early and very late he thought. Maura, having only now noticed his appearance skittered across the kitchen anxiously and threw her arms around him.  
The Gray Man took in a deep breath. She smelled like clean linen and autumn. Like she was part of the season in some secret way. He let out a long, comfortable sigh. He loved her, and he loved it here.  
Not stealing but a single spec of time, they were abruptly interrupted. A loud cackle filled every nook with its shrill violence. “I’ve got grass that needs tending, grass that needs tending, gentle tending to. Grass that needs tending so that is what I’ll DOOOOOOOOOOO”. With a flash of many fabrics, and a thud and the unmistakable roar of the lawn mower engine coming to a start, the song was gone.  
Maura ushered the Gray Man to the table and filled him in on the on goings since they last spoke. The Gray Man sat and listened for a long time. He was a good listener Maura thought. He nodded at all the right times, mhm’ed along the way one should. Yes, he was quite a gifted listener she mused.  
When things had slowed to a long low roll and the hours grew on and crept away the Gray Man found himself dozing off in chair in the living room. He had no idea of how much time had passed or where he stood with it currently. As he rose to his feet and set to the task of getting a glass of water the sound of the lawnmower hummed back in triumphantly. The engine sounded much more powerful than that of a regular old thing, and the Gray Man couldn’t shake the feeling there was more to it than met the eye. He was, after all very good at spotting things just like that.

Chapter 3  
Everything suddenly seemed ablaze and alive and absolute. The scene was magnanimous. The grass danced in triumph with golden drops of dew. Warm, all-encompassing sunlight drenched over everything, welcoming it home. There were a number of discarded vehicles on the road, including a peculiar looking lawnmower, but even those seemed glorious in this picture.  
Just off the road in a flat of land of tall grasses and autumn weeds were an interesting display of people and animals, and…other things.  
The sun, the glow, the word? King This most majestic looking individual gently reached contact with the ground below him. Feet now firmly planted, he beamed a most glorious smile. His glow now gently retreating, he glanced around at the people before him. As he removed the borrowed Aglionby sweater, and began working to straighten his tie and cuff his sleeves neatly his eyes played out on the scene before him.  
Blue was stretched out in a bizarre position that Gansey could not recognize the meaning of. In any case, she was sprawled next to a swath of grass and weeds that was Gansey shaped. He was putting the scene together.  
Ronan was huddled low in the background. His body language suggested he’d been abruptly interrupted while having a moment.  
Then came a face like one Gansey had dreamt. Although different, but similar. It was painful to look at her and realize that his quest for her father ended with a dead end.  
Adam sat flat on his ass next to the crouching daughter of Glendower. It looked as if he’d been pulled down possibly. Glinda herself was bowed low in an elegant curtsy. As was the orphan girl (Pearl as he now understood). It was something.  
For a moment something skipped, or jumped in his mind. He was remembering something he was living in that moment…it was future…he couldn’t make sense of it. Gansey scanned this thought in his mind and found his relationship with time having a discord. He was stumbling somewhere between remembering and the rest.  
“Well it sure is nice to see you all” his voice was warm and delicious like butter melting on a hot biscuit. Blue couldn’t help but think she’d like very much to have him read to her the ingredients of her shampoo bottle soon, or maybe her trigonometry textbook.  
“Gansey?” “Is it you?” a few voices blended together. Gansey rushed toward them and the group collectively slid into a messy kneeling/pushing hug. Even Ronan couldn’t help himself and threw some weight on the pile. “This is the best day in the world” Adam thought. Soon Henry’s voice cut in with its strange pretense and polite posture “this feels like the best day ever”. Blue and Gansey nodded along eagerly. “Interestingly enough, I was just having that same thought.” Gansey’s voice was so polite, and kind, so gentlemanly and southern. So presidential Blue thought.  
“I agree, I feel that very same way” Blue chirped glancing at Gansey directly.  
“Coincidence?” a voice called.  
“Coincidence” a knowing voice replied.


	2. ch. 4-8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's still a lot more where this came from. Things are heating up a bit.

Ch. 4-  
“Pick up your damn phone.” Her voice implored aloud. The Gansey family weren’t much for “outbursts” or dramatics, but as a collective they had become quite worried over the recent disappearance of the youngest member.  
Richard Gansey had not only missed an important school function, and a pivotal campaign moment for his ambitious mother, but he was AWOL entirely. No one had heard from him in the course of a few days, and they were starting to fear something terrible had happened.  
Worried family members became enthusiastic in trying to locate not only their son, but those of other men too. “What about Adam’s parents?” his mother asked thoughtfully. “I think I’ll give them a try”.  
After a brief battle on the part of an eager intern, Mrs. Gansey was given a slip of paper with the name “Parrish” and a Henrietta phone number on it. She immediately began dialing.  
“Hullo?” A soft, mousy woman answered the phone. There didn’t sound like much substance to her Mrs. Gansey thought as she began.  
“Hello Mrs. Parrish?” her accent was that of old money. Even just the way she said “hello” reminded you that this woman was a debutant, a lady of matter. “This is Elaine Gansey, Richard’s mom” she continued.  
Something about the way words slid out of her mouth gave the listener a vision of being sat trackside of the horses, wearing a ridiculously large hat and sipping on cool mint julep. Well, most listeners at least.  
“So what?” the thin voice answered back. It had only a slight bit more heft to it now, but still seemed fragile in some way.  
“Well yes ma’am I am terribly sorry to bother you, I hope this isn’t a bad time. It’s just that my boy has been out of contact the last few days and we were trying to reach him. We understand he’s very close with your son Adam, and I couldn’t help but notice Adam was also absent from Raven Day. You wouldn’t have any idea where they’ve gone off to or how to best reach them might you?” Mrs. Gansey’s voice had all the grace and elegance you could ever ask for. In fact, Mrs. Parrish started to feel as if some of her sweetness would seep right through the phone and infect her. That was the best logical explanation for her answer.  
“How the hell am I supposed to know where your brat’s got off ta?” the woman snapped back. Her accent was thick and her vowels rolled into one, despite her overall affect being quite terse. “There ain’t no one called Adam here, ha’adnt for a long time now. And I don’t know nuffin bout where himmmen his fancys boys r off ta. Keep track er ya own kids lady n don’t be bother’n call here again ya heard?”  
The phone clicked immediately. Mrs. Gansey wasn’t sure what she had expected, but surely she hadn’t been quite prepared for that. Mrs. Gansey met eyes with her daughter whom watched her carefully. She slowly shook her head no from side to side indicating that she had not been successful in finding her son or his friends.  
Mrs. Gansey stood to leave the room and as she did she placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. Her daughter petted the hand softly and offered some soft words of encouragement. This helped, a little.  
His sister, the quiet, always in control person she was began a discreet probe into Gansey the III’s recent whereabouts. Finally her phone alerted a text. It was from Gansey. Dick the third. It read simply: “I’m alright. I’m very sorry for the trouble. Will call soon. Going to need your help, I found Glendower.”  
That was it. There wasn’t anything else that needed to be said really, and Gansey’s aren’t the type for “fluff”. Not between each other at least. They were expedient, efficient, and polite. That’s what this way.  
Hillary, only now slightly less annoyed at her younger brother cast these feelings aside. She was prepared for this for a long time. She had known her brother would find his lost king all along. Everyone had suspected Gansey of great potential, but she knew he’d be successful.  
Helen informed her parents that their youngest was alive and quite well, and set to her task immediately. She withdrew a large, color coded, official looking binder and sat down with her phone and a note book. The eldest Gansey child was very proficient at things of this nature. She knew she’d be able to be helpful in this way, and genuinely enjoyed these types of things. Without a moment’s hesitation she sat down and began constructing emails and making phone calls.  
The Gansey girl had made it her personal mission to have everything laid out in a clean formula for her brother and his comrades in the timeliest of manners. At this rate, the historic society would be here by the new week’s end, she mused. He’ll be giving speeches at Aglionby before the year was out, she reveled at her own expediency. To that end, there was one more matter she had wanted to take up, and this opportunity gave her the fodder she needed. Helen Gansey set to task of her secret side mission in addition to the rest. Multitasking was a great sport in the Gansey household, and she was the champion second only to her own mother.  
“Glad you are ok. I will get things started on my end. Keep posted for an email from me detailing what I’ll need to get this thing going.” Was her reply.  
A moment later another text appeared “Thank you”. Simple and to the point.  
“You owe us here at home. Big time.” Was her reply. She didn’t have to make threats or demands, she knew her brother well. He was a gentlemen, a man of principal, a prince. He would make it right.

Ch. 5  
Blue couldn’t help but notice Gansey quickly withdrawing his gaze from hers. He was…avoiding her? Was he angry? Blue felt a small jolt of pain at this.  
“We’re not done yet” Gansey began. “I need a little more from you all, if you can spare it” he looked from face to face.  
“Now?” Blue asked. Her large eyes blinked as she gave him a reproachful look. “It’s been a long night, nearly two now” she finished.  
“Now. It has to be now. I really only need you to get the pig. The rest I can do on my own.” Gansey sounded clear and absolute.  
“We’re in man. All the way. We are here, tell us what happens next.” It was Ronan’s voice this time. It was steely and firm. Even if the others had a bit of doubt, it was abruptly swept away.  
Ronan and Gansey shared a quick nod.  
“I need you guys to get the Pig and bring it to the conservatory. It’s just a little outside the town. Henry you remember where you found me right?” Gansey directed his question.  
“Yes, yes, I’ll take them to it.” Henry was glad to have a purpose again.  
“And I’ll need your car. Meet me there when you have the pig”. Gansey’s tone was factual and gave the others the impression he wasn’t saying something else, some strange knowledge he was coveting.  
Everyone broke and made their way back to a vehicle. Adam and Ronan immediately began squabbling over who got to drive the pig. Blue chimed in “well it should probably be me, especially since I’m the one with the keys.” She produced the noisy silver ring from her bag. A few keys dangled neatly from it, along with an Aglionby keychain. A girlish smile crept over her face as the other two turned in immediate protest.  
“Blue drives the pig” Gansey said over his shoulder, still careful not to look at Blue directly. Again a tiny pang of something twinged inside her. Blue shrugged it off with the victory and climbed in back of the BMW.

It felt like it had taken forever to reach the place where the pig laid dead on the side of the road. The drive time was spent in a mix of speculating over what had just occurred, what was currently happening with Gansey, and what was about to happen. The group was tired, haggard, and worn through. At this point they were running on sheer adrenaline, and in a lucky few cases- a little bit of magic. No one was quite sure yet what was to happen next, or why Gansey took Glinda, and Glinda alone with him in Henrys’ car. They didn’t know what came next, but they knew somehow it was going to be a big deal.  
When they reached the car, Adam set to work quickly under the hood. In a matter of moments the pig roared and spit to life the violent way it did. The smell of gasoline filled the air as her engine burned rich into the brisk day. Blue slid into the driver’s seat and looked over to see Adam produce Ronan’s phone. Blue imagined he was probably sending Gansey an update. As Blue situated herself in and closed the door she was abruptly impaled by a string of thoughts and images. It was her, or of her at least. She was sitting behind the wheel of the pig wearing her crochet leggings and a made up shirt dress. The area between the knit, and above it glistening under a non-existent summer sun. Blue saw herself shifting through the gears, messy hair untamed by clips and taunted by the rushing wind. Her skin was glowing and she could see tiny flecks of sweat gathered in strategic spots, clinging to her collar bone, and the nape of her neck. Blue smelled the scent of her own shampoo vividly warring with the gas and engine dust, and her heart raced. This felt very…odd. It was as if Blue were fantasizing about herself driving the pig excitedly. Except she was about to, and had a million times already. Blue couldn’t help but feel like this wasn’t her day dream.  
The BMW ripped off into the distance, and Blue had to work hard to keep up. Ronan wasn’t going to make it easy for Blue, especially since he was still stinging after not being chosen to drive the car.  
Henry had climbed into the passenger seat with Blue at some point. She had only just now noticed, as he interjected helpfully. “Downshift here, give yourself power through the turn. You’ll catch him straight away” His voice offered. Blue obliged, and found he was quite right. Ronan scowled back from the rearview, but didn’t dare to go any faster. He had made it challenging enough to keep up, Gansey wouldn’t tolerate any more and Ronan didn’t want Blue to get hurt catering to his ego anyway. His face softened as a slightly more pleased expression broke over it. He and Adam shared a look and Adam spoke. “Don’t be mad, she’s his girl. Of course she gets to drive the car. Anyway, look at her. She’s one of us man. And Fearless. There doesn’t seem to be much she can’t do.”  
Ronan responded with a grunt, but a soft one. One of agreement. One of understanding. A pleased sort of noise for all its gruffness.  
The group pulled up to the house and found Gansey walking in long paces along something only he could see. His face broke into a smile as the cavalry arrived, dotted with the obscene orange of his very own steed. Blue again got a strong whiff of lemongrass and gasoline. Though it was certainly not coming from her, despite the fact that it was.  
Gansey asked Henry to produce a large circular object from the boot of the pig. Henry hungrily obliged and did his best to disguise his struggle under the sheer weight of the object.  
Gansey took the shield from Henry and placed it in a precise spot in the grass.  
“Blue over here please, Glinda you know” and Gansey began giving out directions. The air felt particularly normal. The sky was clear, there was no sign of foreboding weather, no feeling of wrongness. It felt like nothing. Much the way it had when they found Glendower what felt like so many hours ago now.  
“Okay, everyone stand back, except you two. Mirrors on each side” He regarded blue and Glinda more as magical objects than as people in the moment. This prickled Blue, but now was not the time.  
Gansey stood for a moment in a grassy spot he had mapped out with his feet. He muttered to himself briefly (egged on by Glinda who nodded along and seemed to remind him of the words). Gansey walked a line that made a T shape in the grass. Then he came to a stop.  
“GLENDOWER, I CALL UPON YOU. I HAVE COMPLETED YOUR QUEST. I HAVE SECURED THE ESSENCE OF YOUR COURT. I STAND BEFORE YOU ON THIS DAY, THE DAY OF MY SECOND DEATH, AND OF MY THIRD BIRTH. IN FRONT OF ME THE FIELDTY OF A GREAT MAGICIAN AND A DREAM WEAVER. TO MY LEFT, THE LOYALTY AND AIDE OF A DAUGHTER. A GREAT AND POWERFUL CREATURE, YOUR CREATURE. A PRINCESS CAST ASIDE. TO MY RIGHT, THE PAIGE, THE MOTHER AND DAUGHTER OF THE EARTH, THE RED WOMAN, THE CHANNEL. A MOST RARE AND POWERFUL BLUE LILLY. HER LOYALTY TIED DEEP IN THE RIBBONS OF MY VERY BEING. HER SACRIFICE LARGER THAN ALL YOU HAVE CONSIDERED BEFORE.  
AND HERE, MY OFFERING: YOUR THINGS. DISCARDED, CAST ASIDE FOR WEIGHT, AND CONVIENCE. I STAND BEFORE YOU WITH YOUR SHIELD. GLAD TO BE RETURNED TO ITS OWNER.  
At this Gansey tossed the shield to a predetermined place in the formation.  
Gansey held out his hand and began again. “AND A WEAPON PRIZED. A FRIEND FORGOTTEN, YET TRUSTED AND TRUE. “  
Gansey waved an arm dramatically through the air, and before they could realize what had happened he held a large, MASSIVE, glittering sword. Adam could clearly make out a Raven at the hilt. It was Glendower’s, of that he was sure.  
“RETURNED TO ITS RIGHTFUL OWNER (Blue wasn’t sure if he meant himself of Glendower) I MAKE THIS OFFERING TO YOU. GLENDOWER. REVEAL YOURSELF TO ME.”  
Gansey plunged the sword into the ground dramatically at this. He took the hands of the mirrors beside him and Blue knew instinctively what to do. Energy flowed between the three of them in a circular current, gaining in surging waves each time it passed over Gansey. The momentum grew, a humming noise grew, the wind grew, the anticipation grew. Suddenly where there was nothing there now seemed to be EVERYTHING.  
“All hail the Raven King” echoed around them. The Universe had added its support to his request, and no longer able to resist, Glendower exploded in a burst of energy. White hot searing pain made the women on either side of him pull their hands away. Gansey’s body emitted with white light as he fell to one knee. A perfect kneel, his hands splayed firmly in the dirt in front of him as if it were actually grounding him.  
The world echoed again, this time with the addition of a deep voice. Somewhere down in his place of knowing, Adam realized this voice was the addition of Glendower himself.  
“ALL HAIL THE RAVEN KING!!” the world bellowed.  
Gansey, still in a kneel, looking knightly as ever reminded Blue of something. It was a memory. Of something that hadn’t happened? With his hands in the dirt he replied “Gansey”, and finished softly “that’s all there is”.

Ch.6  
“I’ll take you home” Gansey said to Blue, still carefully avoiding direct eye contact. They watched as Adam and Ronan made their way in the BMW toward the Barns down the country road. It was time for a rest. They had fought long and hard, and honorably. They were victorious. It was time to tuck in and recharge. By this time Glinda had long since disappeared, as had the mysterious lawn mower. Even Henry had taken his leave, with his fast car and his robo bee. Both seemed slightly disappointed to leave Gansey.  
Blue nodded in reply. This would be the first time they had been alone in longer than she could remember. So much had happened in the time that had just bolted away from them. They had found Glendower, lost him to mortal death, Gansey had sacrificed himself and killed the demon, and then also met death, done in by a fatal kiss by Blue. Cabeswater had sacrificed itself for Gansey. Adam had now become a piece of Gansey deeply entwined in a way none of them had fully figured yet since Cabeswater effectively now existed inside Gansey. Ronan had relinquished his dream world, and Blue had made a pact with the Universe and promptly tore off a piece of her soul to fill the spaces of Gansey’s being. Then she kissed him again, giving him life anew. Gansey had a moment of clarity, and the world whispered its secrets in his ear. He pulled the sword of Glendower from the air on command and then absorbed Glendower, and his essence, and his favor, and his energy through the earth. Gansey had found his king, and had become one himself. And now, here they were. Tired, and bloody, dead and risen, and all very different from where they had started not all that long ago. They had all been renewed, rebuilt, and reborn.  
“I think I need to have my cards read” Blue broke through the silent car ride. Gansey nodded and agreed. Something felt so wildly different here and now. It wasn’t wrong per se, but it was somehow very, very different.  
Blue squirmed, having experienced the distinct feeling of restlessness, though she wasn’t sure the feeling was her own.  
No further words were exchanged on the ride back to 300 Fox way. When they pulled up in front of the house, there was a large gathering of varying people outside, as if waiting for their triumphant return.  
Glinda had somehow beat them there, and stood in the front yard wearing three different dresses layered on one another, messy black hair filled with nature. She whooped and leapt at the sight of Gansey and Blue exiting the car.  
“Your royal highnesses” she cawed in a dramatic sing-song voice. Her greeting was matched with a most ridiculous and flamboyant curtsy.  
Maura Sargent rushed over and collected up her Blue. Her arm wrapped tightly around her as another extended and scooped in Gansey too. The three stood in an embrace for a moment. When Blue and Gansey’s skin had made contact, both found themselves briefly washed over with a series of images, feelings, smells, memories, and ideas.  
Maura stepped back sharply seemingly in reaction to what had just happened. Blue however was having understanding dawn on her, and she knew her mother had not experienced what she just had, but was knowing of what it was.  
Maura lead Blue into the house and Calla and Glinda fell instep behind. Gansey was met by the Gray Man, Artemis, Orla, and some others crowded around him. A million questions fell on his ears at once. Gansey tried his best to ping pong back and forth and oblige them all. Suddenly, Orla’s voice cut through in a silky, sensual tone. “What’s it like? Being someone’s true love I mean? Feeling trapped at all?” Thinly veiled mischief dripped from the words. Gansey considered this a moment. “I supposed you’d have to ask Blue. She’s as much mine as I hers. But on my account, no not trapped. Free. Home. Finally. In a way I never thought I could ever know.” Gansey turned away and made his way toward the house.  
Inside Maura, Calla, and Glinda had cards laid out in the reading room. Blue stood at the head of the table while the rest sat. “Take your cards” Maura indicated. Blue hesitated for a moment. She drew in a deep breath. “Something wrong?” her mother asked.  
“No. it’s just that this is the first time my future hasn’t been written out in front of me. I just wanted to take a moment with it.”  
“Sensible girl” Calla added. Blue drew in another deep breath, and began making her choices. The women set themselves to task laying out the cards in their proper order. Their linear order that is. The scene before her were three copies in different art of the same story. The fool, the Hanged man, death, the sun or sometimes star depending on whose deck you looked at, the wheel of fortune, the lovers, and finally, the empress. The women pondered this a moment and began to speculate. Glinda hummed and then spoke. Her voice was basic. It was jarring to hear her in this way. No song or rhyming couplets. Just the following:  
“The kiss that kills is the kiss that reignites. The Raven King is risen. The blue flower is now all. The Empress she will be. A mother of all, a child of all. Her innocence is true, and must remain thus. Nothing shall sully the Lily of life until thus time it shall be so, a gift of purest life and soul unto the one deemed worthy. Deviate and the consequences are dire! DIRE! DIRE!!!!” With these final words Glinda had broken off into her usual hysterics. By the time the final “dire” had escaped her crooked mouth, she was standing on the table in the reading room, doing an ill-fitting jig and tossing out ominous looking cards to rain down and seal the whole effect.  
Somehow Blue had known this was the truth. She hadn’t much time to consider it, but a small corner of herself glowed in silent omniscience. This was a truth she had known. Gansey had stood at the threshold of the doorway. Suddenly Blue’s face and ears pricked pink with heat. How much of that had he heard? She wondered. And was he the worthy one? Had Blue just had a psychic reading that chronicled the nuances of their relationship, especially…sexual ones with her mother and pseudo aunt? Had Gansey bore witness? Thinking of it in this way had suddenly made Blue feel very vulnerable. She excused herself out of the room and made her way to the beech tree in the yard to reflect.  
300 Fox Way was a special place, but it was often a frustrating one. Every inch and nook had been inhabited by life in one form or another. There were very few places a girl could spend a moment alone in thought. Casting this off she made herself small under the warmth of the great beech tree. She listened for a moment as she heard it humming a soft but lively melody lightly into the breeze. Blue closed her eyes a moment until she felt a warm glow beside her. She didn’t need to open her eyes to know who it was. She also didn’t need to look at him to see him glow, she could feel it deep within her.  
“It seems my path is laid out once more” she said not bothering to look at Gansey. “Mine too” he replied. Blue could tell by the smell he wore and the pictures that flashed in her mind he had also had his cards read. She pushed this thought away, not wanting to see what had been revealed for him.  
“So” Gansey said in a sheepish chuckle. The moment dragged on and Blue didn’t act quickly enough to save him from it.  
“I guess you heard that” Blue’s eyes met his for the first time. Gansey didn’t look away, and the two experienced a sensation so new to them both.  
“I didn’t need to. I already knew somehow” he answered finally.  
Blue lowered her chin back toward her body, trying to compensate for this feeling of exposure. Gansey quickly caught her face in his hand, and lifted it back toward him. “Thank you, Blue.” His voice was earnest, sincere, and heavy. “For everything. You saved me. Thank you.” Blue couldn’t quite understand the immense sorrow and pain behind his eyes, not until thoughts that weren’t hers crept back in. Gansey was overcome with guilt and grief. Blue had felt it. Now it made sense. Richard Campbell Gansey the III, a king amongst men, had paid the ultimate price, or moreover, his friends had on his behalf. Gansey was being crushed under the weight of realization that he had owed a debt that was eternally unpayable. He owed his very existence, twofold.

Chapter 7  
Somewhere on the other side of the light was darkness. That’s how it worked after all. You couldn’t simply have one without the other. And the Universe was impartial in this matter most days. So, somewhere at the edge of the golden glow the ground shifted and deepened. Things stretched on for ages and shadows for eternity. Dark mist seeped from a hot, damp earth. Night, black, dark stretched out. The stronger the light grew, the longer the shadows grew. This was a day of growing.  
To that end, a strange young man had retreated to a temporary safe haven with his considerations of what he had just witnessed. He had seen more and more mystical things these days, and had even stumbled on a magic forest once when he followed two fellow students one night. He was the same kind of boy that Richard Gansey was. Born and bred well, raised up right. His family came from money, politics, and positions of power. He was good in school, great actually which is how he found himself back in Henrietta this long weekend. There didn’t seem much that set him apart from Dick Gansey at first glance, except a few years and just a little something else.  
The strange man had not ever been able to identify exactly why, but for some reason, despite his best efforts, he was always nearly invisible. People hardly noticed him, and he had become quite good at standing quietly in dark little corners and melting away from the normal eye. This was the way he found himself wrapped up in the night that would seal his fate and illuminate his path.  
It all began when he was invited to speak at Aglionby for an upcoming event. Some Raven Day/Campaign mash up thing. He didn’t love these types of events typically, and in fact he hated Henrietta, but he found himself agreeing to speak as his ego was buffed to an outstanding polish by the headmaster. Not only did the man hate Henrietta, but he hated most things. Especially his pretentious peers with no sense of duty. This slow burning fire was flamed in him as most of the evening was spent in a quiet but anxious whisper between guests and students speculating the whereabouts of their golden prince, Richard Campbell Gansey the third. People even considered where his friends might be, that’s how much they cared about this boy. This type of thing disgusted the strange man most. He loathed entirely entitlement, and prized prince-lings despite his own resemblance. He deduced based on a startling amount of context not only who this Gansey was, but also possibly where he was off to. The strange man heard rumblings of a lost king, an epic adventure and a rag tag group of miscreants along for the ride. It was enough to make his mind up entirely about this Gansey person.  
The strange man had not often been a victim of many of the trappings he felt daunted most men, but blowing smoke up the rear of a man that typically felt invisible would do the trick. After all, it was his duty as Valedictorian to give important speeches. He didn’t bother to wonder why they had asked him instead of the two boys who graduated top of their classes since his class had left the academy.  
Though this man seemed akin to what can be identified as “Gansey-like”, though his upbringing, socioeconomic status, connections, geographical considerations and everything else seemed to be exactly on par with Dick Gansey, this man was decidedly the opposite. He was so unlike Gansey both in nature and appearance that he might be described as being the “antithesis to Gansey”. Although this interpretation seemed a bit unfair at the least and at the most it didn’t account for his own great potential. It was yet to be seen if he were more the opposite of a Gansey, or the undoing of one.  
Through a series of events the strange man found himself invited to a discreet auction of some otherworldly nature the following evening. Being no stranger to nefarious objects, and a lover of all things unique, his curiosity piqued, he obliged. When he got there however, it was nothing like he had expected. This scene was very bizarre. The strange man watched as a beautiful, well dressed woman went on and on about a large hornet she carried. He watched from the corner of the room as people began to leave, and a little show broke out. The strange man watched as people struggled and hurried away while some strange dark force had taken hold of the room. He watched the pretty woman get shot, then the bug eat its way inside her. He watched her as she began to reanimate, the insect now tucked somewhere inside this pretty skin suit, then he watched as she writhed while her creamy skin bubbled and blistered and ultimately erupted spewing matter of all differing smell, color and texture against the nearby walls and furniture.  
The strange man felt a deep pull inside him. He had a feeling of pleasure as the unease and wrongness of this stretched out far. There was a tingling, calling, plucking sensation down deep as something stirred within him. This scene had reminded him of the first time he watched someone die. The satisfying sound as weapon contacted skin and bone smashing in the face of a boy he had Latin with. The strange man felt charged and energized at the consideration of all of this. After some time of pensive thought the man ran his hand through black hair that hung too long in front and needed constant reprimanding to fall back into place. As he sat in the front seat of his vintage Porsche 964, Rolex strutting on his thin wrist, he pulled a sleek black phone out of his pocket and made a call. “I need help finding something. Your best men only. I’ll transfer you funds and call you in two days. Make sure they’re brave” he finished, with a thick oily voice.

Chapter 8  
Blue only vaguely remembered falling asleep under the Beech tree in her yard. Under it, or..inside it maybe? That part was fuzzy too. Now however, she awoke in her room. Sunlight flecked through the patchwork curtains and tickled at the walls. No sooner had her eyes begun to fully open came “BLUUUUUuuuuueee.”a short pause and a matching song; “You don’t want to be late for schoooooooool”. Orla.  
School? Thought Blue. What a ridiculous thing to worry about it seemed. And she was well known for being sensible.  
“Blue come have some breakfast please” Maura’s voice lofted down the hallway and under Blue’s door so lovingly.  
Blue had some things she needed to talk to her mother about. Maybe even one or two for Orla. She also wanted to avoid both of those people because of the nature of certain topics. Blue didn’t much care for saying words that didn’t need to be said. She didn’t feel the need to “converse lightly” the way some people did. She especially didn’t care for having open conversations about things that felt very private. Both of these people involved having conversations that involved both of these things, Blue thought. Somewhere else Gansey rolled his shoulders with ire.  
As Blue came down for breakfast she found just Orla sitting at the table. It was as if she had some unpronounced appointment with Blue. Orla’s eyes slid around the room watching Blue carefully. She sat at the table painting her nails as she often did. Orla looked a goddess with a perfect tan to commemorate the end of summer officially. She looked so effortless in her body, so light and…melty in a good way Blue thought. She took note of this, and rearranged her weight on her feet a bit.  
“Good Morning Darling” Orla said with soft bounce.  
“Good Morning. Welcome Back” Blue was soft herself, but short. Blue could feel Orla’s gaze fixed on the back of her while she rooted around the fridge for a moment.  
“So, how was it? The kiss I mean!” Orla beamed. Blue frowned for a moment, and deciding she very much didn’t like this type of conversation, usually. Blue shrugged her shoulders “I dunno, which one? Both had some serious drawbacks, kiss the living one he dies, kiss the dead one he lives. Ya see?” Blue answered with a question, but Orla understood very much it wasn’t meant to be opened up for discussion. She pressed on anyway.  
“Oh two! Yes I knew that! So..!?!?” she demanded  
“So do you think it’s safe now? To…kiss him I mean?” Blue had tucked a bit into her shoulders at this. She didn’t much care for the feeling this gave her.  
“Ohhhh I heard about that too! Good news, I did a little digging after I heard that morsel and I have it on several very good authorities that your boundaries are very clear! Not much room for interpretation here little bird!” Now Orla was taunting Blue with her tone and poetry.  
Just as Blue was taking in a breath and fixin’ to give Orla a piece of her mind her mother came in.  
“Good to see you eating something more than just yogurt Blue!” her mother noted. The thought hadn’t really occurred to Blue that she had deviated in routine. She felt hungry, and made a really nice yogurt parfait with granola and all sorts of dried and fresh fruit and oatmeal and some almonds for good measure.  
Blue shrugged.  
“Orla can you give us a minute?” asked Maura  
Both Blue and Orla protested, but for different reasons.  
“She can stay mom” Blue said as evenly as she could.  
Orla threw her hands out in a loose gesture and Maura turned back to Blue.  
“Fine, we’ll do the spark notes version now. But you owe me a conversation.” Blue knew this was true and didn’t protest.  
“I know a lot has happened, and a lot of things were said and there’s just a bunch of new things going on right now” Maura’s voice waivered just the tiniest bit, she continued: “but it’s time to get back to school, a routine. There’s been so much we still have to work through, as a family but this is important too, Blue.”  
Blue couldn’t believe this, she was really impressing on her the need for going to school today despite the million things that seemed to Blue obviously much more important.  
Blue didn’t have time to argue as her mother collected up her school bag and began pushing her toward the door. There were so many things that demanded Blue’s attention, she had no idea how she was supposed to focus on microbiology. Orla’s face broke into a huge smile. Blue was NOT finished with their conversation. “Can I kiss him?” She mouthed around Maura’s shoulder desperately to Orla. The bronzed deity of a cousin nodded encouragingly and then made an obscene gesture of pretend kissing that Blue found most disturbing, accompanied by a thumbs up.  
++++  
Adam Parrish stirred under his sheets. Though it was autumn proper now it was always stifling in his tiny shoe box of an “apartment” over the office at St. Mary’s. No need for a blanket, which is good because he didn’t feel like spending his very hard earned money on one. He couldn’t remember the last time he slept so deeply. All of his body felt recharged and rested. Adam had a wonderful feeling of satisfaction as he dressed for school. It wasn’t until the reality of three days AWOL from work and life may have some negative effects for him. He was sure he’d be able to smooth things over with Jimmy the owner of the muffler shop, guys like that popped up and slipped away pretty often, and most weren’t nearly as gifted as Adam with a wrench. He had worried however about his overnight job stocking at the grocery store. He hadn’t planned on missing so much time, and he was sure that it wasn’t going to be so easy to talk his way out of this one. The problem was, this job paid pretty decent owing to the fact that it was overnights, and, besides that, it didn’t really effect his time with his friends hardly ever. Adam was already stretched so thin, but he was just making it. If he lost that much of his income he’d miss rent or tuition. He didn’t want to think about what that looked like. There were plenty of things he did want to think about anyway. For starters Gansey was alive, and the demon was dead. Cabeswater survived somehow now inside of Gansey. He was excited to be getting closer to the end of school in Henrietta, and wondered if their discovery of Glendower could somehow help him go to college. On top of all that, he was pretty sure he was falling in love with Ronan. If that wasn’t enough there was a medium sized black binder on his passenger seat with a note from Gansey. There was plenty of good things for Adam to think about as he pulled out of the drive and aimed his Franken-mobile at Aglionby Academy.


End file.
